Chemical Plant Fire Tests Georgia Residents' CBRN Readiness

On September 29, 2024, Georgia residents outside of Atlanta unwillingly found themselves in a scenario reminiscent of those faced by our service members in World War I. The Doughboys fighting in the trenches of Europe didn't ask for the Germans to drop chlorine gas upon them. Neither did the residents of Rockdale County ask for the Conyers Bio Lab to do the same.

Yet, such was the reality when a chemical fire broke out in Conyers, GA, just outside of Atlanta. A plume of smoke could be seen for miles around as the chemical plant fire burned uncontrolled, and it didn't take long for tests to reveal that the air was rich with chlorine.

For the Germans, it was just a matter of chemical warfare, but for countless chemical companies around the nation, this is, as they call it, the cost of doing business. The chemical plant in Conyers is just the latest reminder that corporate America does not value your family's safety with the same intensity as you. No one is coming to save the day. Your family's safety is your responsibility.

What Happened During the Chemical Fire in Georgia?

In the early morning hours of Sunday, it is reported that a malfunctioning sprinkler released water that came in contact with a water-reactive chemical, producing a plume. This sprinkler head may have malfunctioned, but keep in mind that such a device is supposed to go off in case there is a fire.

What was a water-reactive chemical doing underneath a sprinkler? What if there had been a real fire? Would not the sudden water flow then have only increased the intensity of the fire? Officials said this was a malfunction, but the team here at MIRA is struggling to see anything other than another reason why families need to take charge of their own family's safety. Again, no one is coming to save the day if you do not.

From time to time, we'll get some feedback here at MIRA Safety as to whether we are taking preparedness too seriously. Well, if a malfunctioning water system can send the same chemical into rural Atlanta that our troops faced in World War I, we'd say we're not taking it seriously enough. Chances are, neither are you, but we can solve that together.

Evacuate and Shelter-in-Place Orders

There were more than 17,000 people evacuated with little warning and over 90,000 ordered to shelter in place. That is over 100,000 lives in the danger zone. Compare that to the fact that a little over 100,000 Americans died in World War I, with around 40% of those dying from the flu.

Over 100,000 lives in the path of chlorine-filled smoke is an existential threat to your family and ours. First responders and local authorities will try to downplay the threat, but keep in mind that this is standard PR protocol. Rockdale County fire officials want to mitigate any panic, and to do so, they have to downplay the threat.

Whenever over 100,000 people are ordered to shelter in place or evacuate, take it far more seriously than they let on. That's why we've put together an extensive video on how to shelter in place, and we suggest you check it out and take notes now.

Hazards Posed by the Fire: Chlorine Gas and Air Quality

How lethal is chlorine gas to the human body, one might ask? Lethal enough for the Germans to consider it a weapon of war. The Georgia chemical plant in question made pool and spa products with chlorine. By Monday morning, their intent was irrelevant as the chemical was in the air.

The chemical plant fire sent countless volumes of chlorine into the air without warning, and the only thing that mattered to the average American family was how much they had prepared before that day. We offer fairly fast shipping on our line of gas masks, but even we can't get to you the day of the incident. Either you have prepared or you have not.

Our CBRN NBC-77 Gas Mask Filter has been rigorously tested on Type B Chlorine gas like that released in the Georgia fire. We've tested this product long before the biolab plant in Conyers caught fire because the moment you need a gas mask is not the time to find out the hard way whether it works or not. We take your family's safety as seriously as we would our own, and we don't place products on our family if we don't know that they will work. Period. Full stop. End of story.

Historical Incidents at the BioLab Facility

As the massive plume of smoke filled the Georgia sky as the fire raged at the biolab facility, one might like to take comfort in the fact that such fires are a rarity. The only problem is that nothing could be further from the truth.

A fire broke out in 2020 that required the closure of the I-20 interstate for multiple hours. Another fire broke out again in 2016 and in 2004. Keep in mind that the facility in Conyers is just one of over 13,500 chemical plants littered across the nation.The moral of the story is that if the massive plume of dark smoke and thick chemical smell through the air in Georgia was not enough to encourage you to invest in personal PPE, don't worry, you'll have another fire soon enough to remind you. Yet, it is a discernible truth that if you asked everyone sheltering in place if they wanted a gas mask, the answer would have been an obvious yes.

Broader Impacts from the Fire at the Biolab Facility

Rockdale County Fire Chief Marian McDaniel said in a statement that the fire was caused by a faulty fire suppressant system. What she did not expand upon is why that was possible in the first place. How can it be that water necessary to suppress a fire can cause a fire via a mix with a water-reactive chemical? It's the epitome of a damned if you do and damned if you don't moment.

As mentioned earlier, much of corporate America simply views this as the cost of doing business. We can't count on the government to police it for us. In the past few years, the United States military knew that fuel was leaking into the water system at Pearl Harbor. They did nothing for years. Marine officials knew that for perhaps decades, the drinking water at Camp Lejeune was contaminated.

If a nonessential service such as making chemicals for swimming pool and spa water goes this unsupervised, what else is out there? It is a fair question to ask. Once again, no one is coming to save the day if you do not make your family's safety paramount.

How to Prepare Your Family for the Next Chemical Fire

Today it was county officials in Rockdale County trying to answer questions as the plant fire sent a massive plume of chlorine into the air. Tomorrow it could be your county or ours. A small fire at a biolab sent Georgia residents into survival mode at 5 a.m. Sunday morning. It is only what they did prior to that event that mattered.

We've already mentioned the gas mask filters and masks we offer, but we would be negligent if we didn't ask you to consider what matters most to you. For our founder and for the staff here at MIRA Safety, that is our children. That is why we are one of the few providers to offer a line of children's gas masks.

It was an epiphany for our founder when he had his first child and realized that he could face a moment such as the Georgia chemical plant fire where he needed to put on a gas mask only to realize he had nothing for his child. What is the point of a parent surviving if he had to watch his child suffocate while he sat in safety? May it never be.

Source: MIRA Safety Evakpak™ Survival Kit

The Fire at the Biolab in Conyers is a Call to Action

It wasn't two months ago that we reported on a similar fire in Ohio. It won't be another two months before we report on another fire in another state near you. Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management officials tried to downplay the threat as if it could never hit Atlanta itself, but give it time; the stats do not lie.
Thankfully, all of the employees inside the plant were reported safe.

Unfortunately, county officials report that the plume of dark smoke high into the sky could last for days. Local residents are continuing to report a strong chemical smell in the air, and shortness of breath is being reported by many.

Many have been encouraged to keep sheltering in place Monday and perhaps days longer. Keep windows and doors sealed when not in use and, most importantly, use this incident as a call to action. Do not wait until the barbarians are at the gates and chlorine fills the air of your town like it did the trenches of World War I. Act now. Prepare now. Survive. Godspeed to all the first responders and those in the evacuation zone. Remember, we can’t predict the next crisis, but we can control how prepared we are. Reach out to customer service at +1 888-316-1462. We are here to help!